Holy crap, this game is adorable! Designed to let you create whatever characters you want from Nintendo Miis and thrust them into classic and not-so-classic RPG roles on a fun adventure, Miitopia was enjoyable to play every time we turned the game on.

This was certainly an addicting game! From the moment I started playing, I knew I was going to fall in love and not want to turn the game off.

The gameplay for Miitopia is simple, with you as the player being fairly passive when it comes to the game unfolding. You read along with the story and the word bubble dialogue of the characters when they spoke, along with controlling your main character in battle. The battles were a turn-based, classic RPG style where you would pick to attack with a basic, physical move or with a magic or skill move based on your character’s class. You could also choose to run from the battles or eat a snack to help improve your characters hit points or magic/skill points.

This is the definition of a casual game. There’s a world map where you bounce from area to area. In each area you watch your team wander through until a random encounter happens: they talk to each other, they find a treasure chest, enemies arrive, etc. New areas and levels arrive as you finish each one so that you may progress through the game.

While it was casual, there was the challenge of being sure your team grew, both in levels for fights and with their friendship status with each other. One of the most unique aspects of Miitopia was the relationship growth among the characters, where their relationship status could help or hinder the fights. As their affection for each other grows, allies will help one another out more in fights, from praising, showing concern, attacking together, or even taking hits from enemies for one another.

However, when traveling together for such a long time, one can get on another’s nerves. Not to mention that some attacks can annoy your teammates. For example, you can use your teammate as a human cannon or feed them spicy food so that they’ll breathe fire on an enemy. This attacks can annoy your teammates, thus putting them into a “fight.” Instead of their friendship growing, they need to make up with one another first. This is helped by putting them into the same room at the inn.

Having characters room at the inn raises their affection for one another, which is helpful in making them hug it out whenever they’re arguing! The inn serves as the main save point in the game, and Miitopia is rife with them — after every level, there is an inn for your Miis to comfortably stay. It’s also at the inn where you can see if a character wants a new weapon or outfit. If you can afford it, it’s best to shell out the cash so they can raise their offensive and defensive stats for the battles ahead.

At the inn, you can also play “games” like rock, paper, scissors to win 500g or spin a roulette wheel where you can win a new outfit or weapon, food or extra experience points, a travel ticket (that helps two of your Miis gain friendship faster), or an HP banana or MP candy. However, these games are only available if you have game tickets. Those tickets go fast, but you can find them pretty easily throughout the game. In addition, you can also feed your Miis at inn with whatever food you find from defeating monsters. Each food helps increase either attack, speed, defense, magic, etc. However, if they don’t like it, it won’t boost it as much.

The graphics were charming, using the Nintendo Miis as the characters to populate the world. The locations and field areas were designed to fit the mood of wherever you were on the map, with colors and shapes falling into the background in favor of watching your Mii characters travel along the predetermined road. Everything about the game was pleasing to my eye.

I’m glad they made a game surrounded by your Miis, other than Tomodachi Life, but you actually play in Miitopia. The graphics were adorable and your Miis could make all sorts of expressions. The backgrounds were pretty and certainly fit each area whether you were in a desert, a forest, space, or a snowy area.

The backgrounds were engaging enough to complete the scene, but they didn’t take away any focus from the characters themselves. The music accompanying the areas and battles were fitting, completing the mood without disrupting anything from the storyline. The final boss song, especially, was utterly amazing!

The music was amazing throughout the whole game. This is definitely a soundtrack I would buy and listen to all the time. When first turning on the game, before officially “starting” the game, the menu screen sings a different song depending on where you are in the game. It can be cheerful or somber or omenous. It was certainly an interesting feature!

I wouldn’t mind just sitting there and listening to the menu screen for a while, in all honesty. It’s just adorable gibberish, but it’s amusing and catchy!

In Miitopia you begin as a simple traveler. It’s not until you run into monsters with odd faces that you realize something is amiss. You run to the nearest town and there you meet the Dark Lord. He’s stealing faces from others and putting them onto monsters to terrorize Miitopia. With the help of a spirit guardian, you get a “job” where you choose to be a mage, cleric, thief, warrior, pop star, or chef and take on the task of saving Miitopia.

Every so often, another party member will join your team in your quest to take on the Dark Lord. Throughout this quest, you will meet many other characters in the hubs of Miitopia, and helping them will help you with your ultimate goal of defeating the Dark Lord. The story itself is broken into three parts, each more challenging than the last for your Mii characters, even if the basic concept is the same — your main character is your first Mii, party members will join throughout the story, and together you will defeat enemies to rescue the faces and the land of Miitopia.

The ending of the story is quite epic, I must say. I won’t say anything for the sake of spoilers, but it was certainly a fitting ending, especially for a Nintendo game. Each character gets their moment to shine and you find out the true meaning behind the Dark Lord, which is a bittersweet tale. But I loved it.

Even after I defeated the main story line, I wanted to dive right back into the game to keep playing. There were more options for quests for your party, as well as plenty of extra room to include even more party members, allowing you to try out as many classes and team combinations as you want. The only downside that I could find was that there are no extra save files that I saw. Other than that, it’s a game that I can see myself picking up to play here or there again to coo over my Miis completing quests and growing friendships with one another.

This game was perfect. It wasn’t too long, but it wasn’t too short. It was satisfying to beat, yet I didn’t want it to end. However, it seems as though there are so many other things you can do in the game even after the main story. I’m looking forward to diving back into it to see what else I can do and what other characters I can make.

Miitopia gets…5 out of 5 lives.

Have you played this game? What did you think? Let us know in the comments!